Trac Phones Still Working On Carnival?

[ednjude]

Hi,

I'm sorry if this has already been answered but I haven't seen anything on trac phones on Carnival ships since April or so.

 

So my question is... do trac phones still work on Carnival ships (we'll be on the Spirit next week) while they're at sea? And does anyone know if Carnival's system is GSM or CDMA?

 

Thanks for any info...

 

Ed

[firefly333]

I just changed out my SIMs card a few days ago and the phone number so it was local to Dallas. Im bringing mine on the Ecstasy. Would be interested in if they worked from the ship and the ports too.

[granitegal]

my daughters Tracfone worked just fine for us. We were on the imagination and went to Grand Cayman and Jamaica. I believe that it said no service on land, but once on ship it did. My son's prepaid alltel did not though. I would think it would be the other way around....depends on where you are going though I guess. Hope this helps.

[chandom]

And does anyone know if Carnival's system is GSM or CDMA?

 

Only part I can answer is Carnival's system supports both CDMA and GSM

 

More info about the system used at: http://www.cellularatsea.com/endusers.htm

[diajohn]

I bought a trakfone for our cruise last week on the Pride out of LA. It worked for two days and then did not work again. I think they caught it and deactivated it on the ship. It worked again when I got home.

[ednjude]

I bought a trakfone for our cruise last week on the Pride out of LA. It worked for two days and then did not work again. I think they caught it and deactivated it on the ship. It worked again when I got home.

 

 

Did you have to call TracPhone to have it turned back on or did it happen automatically?

[Djford75]

I purchased a Trac Phone for our trip to the W. Carrib. The phone worked on the first day at sea, then did not work again until we docked at port canaveral. I'm not sure what happened, a lot of poeple on this board said they worked, that's why I bought one. We also had our bussiness phones which were Verizon, mine worked fine, I only used it twicw to call our 6 yr old. Hope the info helps.

[firefly333]

Iv heard they disconnect your tracfone that you are not supposed to use it at sea, forget the fine print why. They only charge double minutes for roaming until they catch you using it on the ship.

 

Im doing western to mexico, so I was wondering about those ports...out of galveston.

[JJMM]

I was thinking of buying a Tracfone myself but now I think I will just use my cell. I have Verizon. I will be making quick daily calls home.

[kingoftheicedragons]

It's tough to say with Trac Phones. My wife and I both had trac phones, and we took mine on our cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Costa Maya in February of 2007, and it did not work at all.

 

I will say that we sometimes go to Canada, and my wife's older trac phone would work in CAnada, but my newer one did not--and Trac phone says they will not work outside of the US. Why my wife's continued to work in Canada is a mystery to me...but on our last trip to Canada, her's would not work there, so I'm glad we switched to actual cell phones--T-Mobile will work outside the US and specifically will work on Carnival cruise lines--at a rate of something like $2.49/minute.

[JJMM]

T-Mobile will work outside the US and specifically will work on Carnival cruise lines--at a rate of something like $2.49/minute.

 

 

I think it's about the same for Verizon per minute. This is defitely better than the rate via the phone in the cabin. From what I read on the boards, there should be no other charges. I hope this is the case for our cruise in Jan. :)

[Capt's SweeTart]

How about Sprint? Do they work on the ship? If so, does anyone know what the approximate rate is?

 

Thank you in advance. ;)

[KRUISE KING]

try 4.99 per min on the ship

www.wirelessatsea.com

[diajohn]

Mine reactivated by itself. I only bought it for the cruise though.

[sea_u_onboard]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but just curious if anyone has tried a Trac Phone recently? Sounds like it's not going to work on the ship - some say US only. Any experiences on the islands?

[Cruise-Crazy]

Mine did not work on the Imagination back in February, my AT&T was good.

[reno3]

I will be cruising on the Legend in two weeks. I called Tracfone and asked them about the phone. They told me that the phones only work in the U.S. and if I try to use it it will be deactivated and then I would have to reactiveate it when I get home:(

I will call my parents and inlaws from Tampa and tell them if they don't hear from me until I get back to Tampa don't worry. No news is good news:)

[firefly333]

I was cruising last week and turned it on during the cruise and it read "emergency only", so seems like you could call out, but I got nervous to try it. But then on the way home in Corisicana TX got the same read out, emergency only, so maybe its the type of signal, but I did get a signal

[TanIslandGirl]

While on the Legend in February I used my Verizon cell out at sea and it worked great. The only thing was is that I forgot to call Verizon and turn on that 4.99 extra plan for the month so I wouldn't get the roaming charges. So when I got home a few weeks later I had a bill that was about $50. higher than usual. I will remember to call Verizon before I sail again.:)